Two Chinas Policy

Taiwan President Stops in U.S. as Relations Warm

By Chris Horton
President Tsai Ing-wen in Paraguay earlier this month, after a stopover in Los Angeles.
TAIPEI, Taiwan — President Tsai Ing-wen visited Houston over the weekend, her second brief stop in the United States in one week, a sign of efforts to deepen relations between Washington and Taipei despite enraged opposition from China.
Ms. Tsai stopped in Los Angeles last Monday, on her way to Paraguay and Belize, and then in Houston on Saturday on her way back home. 

During the earlier stop, she met with three California lawmakers, including one, Representative Brad Sherman, a Democrat, who called on the United States to formally invite her to Washington, which would break with decades of American practice.
The United States has not officially recognized Taiwan since 1979, when it shifted to recognizing China’s Communist government. 

China hopes to absorb the self-governed, democratic island, which it has never controlled, and has campaigned to erase any recognition by other countries or corporations of Taiwan’s sovereignty.
The visits to Houston and Los Angeles are considered “transit stops” rather than official visits, part of a longstanding restriction imposed by the United States to maintain better relations with China. 

But Beijing has objected even to such brief stopovers, and the most recent ones came after President Trump demonstrated willingness to provoke China’s anger.
Mr. Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on Chinese goods, touching off a trade war, and in March he signed the Taiwan Travel Act, which encourages the kind of high-level, official visits the United States and Taiwan have not had in many years. 

Ms. Tsai’s most recent transit stops were her first since Mr. Trump signed the act into law.
While there were no expectations that Mr. Trump would meet his Taiwanese counterpart, there were indications that the United States was willing to be more welcoming to Taiwanese presidents.
In a first, Taiwanese journalists were permitted to follow Ms. Tsai and report from the sites of events she attended. 

She visited Taiwan’s de facto consulate in Los Angeles — another first — and she addressed American media at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library near Los Angeles.
“There were pictures of her meeting crowds of local Taiwanese, accompanied by police escort, and giving a speech at the Reagan library,” said Julian Ku, professor at Hofstra Law School. 

“All of that significantly raised her public profile and made her seem more like a normal leader making a normal visit to a foreign country.”
She met with Republican and Democratic members of Congress, underscoring the strong bipartisan support for Taiwan.

In China, however, Ms. Tsai elicits hateful commentary on a level that perhaps only the Dalai Lama can match. 

Shortly after she visited a Los Angeles location of the Taiwanese coffee chain 85C, the Chinese internet erupted with anger, calling for a boycott of the chain’s several hundred locations in China, its largest market.
That day, 85C’s parent company, Gourmet Master, whose stock trades on Taiwan’s exchange, lost $120 million in share value. 

The company promptly apologized and expressed support for peaceful unification.
Many Taiwanese were upset by the company caving in to Chinese pressure, with some also calling for a boycott of the chain. 

Polls consistently show that the overwhelming majority of people in Taiwan, a multiparty democracy, oppose being absorbed into China’s one-party, authoritarian rule.
The episode is the latest example of the Chinese government using its grip on the country’s enormous market to pressure corporations into serving its political agenda. 

In recent months, companies including international airlines, hotels and other brands have begun referring to Taiwan as a province of China in response to threats from Beijing. 

The White House called China’s tactics “Orwellian nonsense,” but did little else to back up American corporations.
If China fines United States companies or restricts their access to Chinese markets for refusing to call Taiwan a province, then the Trump administration should retaliate in kind against Chinese companies, said William Stanton, a former director of the American Institute in Taiwan, the unofficial United States diplomatic presence there.
“China’s trying to make both Taiwan and the government of Tsai Ing-wen persona non grata throughout the world,” he said. 

“There’s just no end to it.”
Bonnie Glaser, senior Asia adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the Trump administration’s approval for Ms. Tsai’s visits to the Reagan library and the Johnson Space Center in Houston showed that “they trusted she would not say or do anything that would increase cross-strait tensions.”
Congress, which has been a staunch supporter of Taiwan since the United States broke formal ties almost four decades ago, has become increasingly open to taking a new approach toward Taiwan.
“At some point we’re going to have to recognize the independence of Taiwan,” Representative Michael McCaul of Texas, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said in a July speech at the American Enterprise Institute.
Earlier this year, Mr. Ku of Hofstra Law School was one of several experts who testified at a House hearing on strengthening relations with Taiwan.
“There is an appetite in Congress to do more for Taiwan, and that the opposition to China in Congress is allowing pro-Taiwan congressmen to think bigger about how to help Taiwan,” he said.
Congress has limited direct powers over American foreign policy, but inviting foreign leaders to address it is one authority it has exercised, with or without presidential approval.
Mr. Ku said he thought that if Congress were to invite Ms. Tsai to address a joint session, it would be “something they would work up to.”
“Congress is eager to do things to help Taiwan,” he said, “so nothing, not even a Tsai address to Congress, can be ruled out in the current environment.”

"No One Can Obliterate Taiwan’s Existence"

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen gave her first speech in the US in 15 years

news.com.au

IT WAS a brief fleeting speech made between flights — but it’s enraged a rising superpower.
As China builds on its attempts to wipe Taiwan from international recognition, the smaller country’s leader Tsai Ing-wen has given her first speech in the United States in 15 years.
She spoke of the importance of freedom, democracy and independence — words that fell at odds with China’s perception of Taiwan as a small part of itself.
At this stage, rising tensions between the two countries are the last thing anyone could want, with experts warning of a prospective major war looming in the region.
During a stopover en route to Paraguay, Tsai Ing-wen — whose government refuses to endorse Beijing’s view that Taiwan is part of China — vowed to defend democratic values.
“We will keep our pledge that we are willing to jointly promote regional stability and peace under the principles of national interests, freedom and democracy,” Ms Tsai said in a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
“In going abroad, the whole world can see Taiwan; they can see our country as well as our support for democracy and freedom.”
And then, in a fleeting reference to the mainland: “We only need to be firm so that no one can obliterate Taiwan’s existence.”

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during her visit to Los Angeles, California during a stopover en route to allies Paraguay and Belize.

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH CHINA AND TAIWAN?
Neither China nor Taiwan see themselves as two separate countries.
But they do have different governments, and the trouble is each side believes itself to be the owner of both territories, in a conflict that dates back almost 100 years.
In 1927, a civil war broke out in the Republic of China between the Communist revolutionaries and the Nationalist government.
In 1949, the Nationalists were defeated and fled to Taiwan, which their forces still controlled.
At this point the fighting stopped, but the dispute wasn’t resolved; both sides continued to claim both mainland China and Taiwan belonged to them.
In 1979, the United States switched its recognition from the Taiwan government to Beijing’s. 

A number of other countries — including Australia — followed suit, and it’s understood no American leader has communicated openly with a Taiwanese president since.
Ties between Taiwan and the US have warmed further since Donald Trump came to power, and were further bolstered by the passage this week of the National Defence Authorisation Act, which includes a commitment to military support of Taiwan.
Last month, the US sent two warships into the Taiwan Strait. 

That followed a string of military drills staged by Beijing around the island.
Chinese state newspaper Global Times accused the US and Taiwan of “shady dealings”, warning that the mainland was capable of giving the Taiwanese authorities “a drastic punishment”.
Meanwhile, the US has repeatedly expressed concern about China’s increasing pressure on Taiwan.
Mr Trump has denied any change to its “One China” policy.
State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the speech did not represent any move by the Trump administration to alter the official US stance that accepts Beijing as the sole government of China, and does not officially recognise Taiwan’s government.
“The United States in regard to this trip facilitates from time to time representatives of the Taiwan authorities to transit the United States.
“Those are largely undertaken out of consideration for the safety and the comfort of those travellers, and that is in keeping with our One China policy.”
Yet previous US administrations have prevented Taiwan leaders from making speeches in the United States that would implicitly elevate their diplomatic status and irk Beijing.

TENSIONS ARE ON THE RISE
Tsai’s stopover came amid a rise in tensions between China and Taiwan that has raised concerns in Washington.
In April the Chinese military held live-fire exercises in the Taiwan Strait in what was widely seen as a move to intimidate Taipei.
In Singapore in June, US Secretary of Defence James Mattis warned China not to alter the security status quo in the region.

Beijing has cracked down on Taiwan’s attempts to assert itself as an autonomous independent nation.

Last month, Beijing forced several international airlines, including US carriers, to begin listing Taiwan as a part of China in advertising their services.
Dr Brendan Taylor, Associate Professor at ANU Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, argued that Taiwan was one of the most dangerous crossroads for a prospective new major war.
In his new book, The Four Flashpoints: How Asia Goes to War, he describes Taiwan as a “ticking time bomb”.
“America’s military ability to defend Taiwan is already at its limit,” he writes. 

“The US advantage will likely be gone in a decade... allowing Beijing to deny America access to this theatre.
“America’s ability to intervene in the Taiwan Strait is receding, while an attempt to re-engage carries the risk of sparking a war like no other.”

Nation of Spies: DJI drones are spying for China

Homeland Security released a memo detailing DJI’s main targets.
By Mallory Locklear

Chinese flying spies

A memo from the Los Angeles office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau (ICE) has been making the rounds and it states some pretty bold claims about drone-maker DJI. 

The memo, which was apparently issued in August, says that the officials assess "with moderate confidence that Chinese company DJI Science and Technology is providing US critical infrastructure and law enforcement data to the Chinese government." 

The LA ICE office also says that the information is based on, "open source reporting and a reliable source within the unmanned aerial systems industry with first and secondhand access."

Part of the memo focuses on targets that the LA ICE office believes to be of interest to DJI. 

"DJI's criteria for selecting accounts to target appears to focus on the account holder's ability to disrupt critical infrastructure," it said. 

The memo goes on to say that DJI is particularly interested in infrastructure like railroads and utilities, companies that provide drinking water as well as weapon storage facilities. 

The LA ICE office concludes that it "assesses with high confidence the critical infrastructure and law enforcement entities using DJI systems are collecting sensitive intelligence that the Chinese government could use to conduct physical or cyber attacks against the United States and its population."
This isn't the first time that the US government has butted heads with DJI. 

In August, a US Army memo directed its members to immediately stop using all DJI products due to cybersecurity concerns -- something that the Australian Defense Force also did temporarily. 

Shortly thereafter, DJI released its Local Data Mode, which allows users to cut off drones from all internet activity. 

And there have been many legitimate security vulnerabilities brought up in regards to DJI's systems. 

Chinese woman arrested on charges of smuggling US space technology to China

Feds say components commonly used in military communications jammers
By Jeff Daniels 

A Los Angeles-area woman was arrested Tuesday by federal agents in a scheme to illegally export sensitive space communications technology to her native China, the U.S. Justice Department announced.
The equipment, worth more than $100,000, included components the government said are commonly used in military communications jammers.
The 14-count indictment described how Si Chen, also known as Cathy Chen, received payments for the illegal export of products. 

Payments were made through a bank account in China held by a family member.
The 32-year-old Chen was arraigned Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. 

If convicted of the charges, the defendant faces a statutory maximum penalty of 150 years in prison.
Chen is charged with conspiracy, money laundering, making false statements on an immigration application and using a forged passport. 

She also is charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which dates back to the 1970s and restricts and controls the export of certain technology and goods to foreign countries.
"Federal export laws are designed to protect American interests by preventing the proliferation of technology that may fall into the wrong hands, said acting U.S. Attorney Sandra R. Brown in a release.
"We will vigorously pursue those who traffic items that could harm our national security if they land in the wrong hands."
According to the indictment, Chen purchased and smuggled the sensitive items to China without obtaining the required licenses from the U.S. Department of Commerce. 

The documents allege she tried to avoid detection by removing the export-import warning stickers prior to shipping the components.
The government further alleges Chen rented an office in Pomona, California, under a false name and took delivery of the export-controlled items at this location. 

After obtaining the goods, the indictment alleges she then shipped the devices to Hong Kong, using a false name and providing false product descriptions and monetary values on the parcels.
The charges were contained in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on April 27 and unsealed Tuesday after Chen's arrest. 

The probe began back in 2015 when federal agents intercepted a parcel that contained communications equipment sent by "Chunping Ji," the false name used by the defendant in the smuggle scheme.